Monsoon Mists (10 page)

Kinross named a staggering price, but Zar saw a glint in his eyes that told her he was just testing her.

‘Preposterous,’ she said, putting the gemstone back on the tray. ‘It’s not even worth half that amount.’

‘Zar.’ William frowned at her. ‘I’ll handle this.’

‘But—’

‘If you don’t mind?’ It wasn’t really a request, as she could see from his stormy expression, so Zar backed down.

‘Very well.’

He proceeded to haggle half-heartedly and ended up agreeing a price that was much too high, despite the subtle warning she tried to give him. Zar wanted to shake him. Why couldn’t he understand that showing such obvious interest right from the start would get him a bad bargain? He was such a fool.

Kinross turned to her. ‘Perhaps you’d be interested in some of the smaller gems, Mrs Miller?’

‘Yes, why don’t you buy a few while I go and fetch the money for this one?’ William put in. ‘They don’t look too bad.’ To Kinross he added, ‘Excuse me, I’ll only be a moment.’

As soon as he’d left the room, Zar rounded on Kinross. ‘That was daylight robbery and you know it. You, sir, are no gentleman.’

To her consternation, he smiled and nodded agreement. ‘Definitely not, but your stepson deserved that. No one should be in business when they don’t have the necessary skills for it. Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t gone bankrupt long before now.’

‘The reason he hasn’t is because I usually save his skin.’ Zar clenched her teeth together to stop from snarling at the infuriating man. ‘But I’m guessing you’re not going to listen to reason and lower the price, even though I know you’re fleecing us?’

Kinross regarded her for a moment, growing serious. ‘Us? Do his deals affect your part of the business then?’

‘Unfortunately, yes, although I do some of my own which help.’

He picked up the two most valuable of the smaller stones on the tray and held them out to her, their iridescence sending flashes of fire round the room. ‘Then take these, Mrs Miller, as compensation for my alleged “fleecing”. They are worth roughly the amount your stepson is overpaying me by, wouldn’t you agree?’

Zar blinked. ‘You’re giving them to me for free?’

‘Yes, on condition you don’t tell him.’ He nodded in the direction of the door William had disappeared out of. ‘I wouldn’t wish you to suffer on account of his idiocy. I may not be a gentleman, but I make it a rule never to cheat ladies. Here, take them and put them away.’

She had the distinct feeling he might cheat women in other matters, but she was relieved he didn’t do so in business. It flustered her, however, and she didn’t know what to think of this strange offer. As if he’d divined her thoughts, he dropped the stones into her palm and closed her fingers around them. The touch of his hand on hers made a shiver run up her arm and she looked at him. ‘Are you sure?’

He nodded. ‘Quite sure. I meant to test Miller and I had my answer. I never thought to involve you.’

Zar tried to calm the fluttering in the pit of her stomach which had been caused by staring into his silvery eyes. They were like the diamonds, clear, sharp and luminous, and quite beautiful … She stopped her thought right there. Mr Kinross had been toying with them and she didn’t know what game he was playing. First the supposed robbery and now this. What was he up to? She had no idea, but since William was losing so much on this deal, refusing his offer was out of the question.

‘Very well, I thank you, Mr Kinross and you have my word, I won’t tell William.’

‘Good.’ The smile he sent her this time was nothing short of dazzling. Zar was glad she was sitting down as it definitely did something strange to her innards. Then a teasing glint flashed in his eyes.

‘So have you thought any more about my proposition?’ he asked.

‘Which proposition would that be?’ Zar frowned, caught off-guard by his question.

‘To, er … amuse you if you’re in need of a diversion.’

Zar couldn’t stop her mouth from falling open, but shut it quickly again as she sent him her most quelling glance. ‘Really, Mr Kinross, I don’t know to what you are referring.’

‘Oh, I think you do.’

He was still smiling and Zar felt unaccountably hot all of a sudden. But she was also outraged. She would make it clear to him she was not that kind of woman.

‘I’ll have you know I’m a respectable widow. Neither you, nor anyone else, will ever set foot in my bedroom and I’d thank you not to refer to such things again.’

She turned to stare out the window while she tried to force her breathing to return to normal. For some reason she was having trouble inhaling enough air and it was making her chest heave unbecomingly.

‘Now that sounds distinctly like a challenge to me. Would you like to bet on it?’

Chapter Nine

‘What?’ Zar swivelled round and stared at Kinross. The effrontery of the man.

‘I’ll wager one hundred rupees that I will. Set foot in your bedroom, that is.’ He raised his eyebrows at her, as if daring her to accept. ‘Say, within the next two weeks?’ he added, a teasing note in his voice.

‘I don’t believe I’m hearing—’

‘Very well, two hundred rupees. Deal?’

‘Now see here, Mr Kinross—’

‘You drive a hard bargain, Mrs Miller. Three hundred it is.’

Zar almost stamped her foot in frustration, but managed to restrain herself at the last minute. ‘I’m not making a wager with you!’

‘Ah, you’re afraid you’ll lose. I thought so.’

His smug expression made Zar see red. She clenched her fists by her side and scowled at him. ‘I am not.’

‘Well, then, you almost certainly stand to gain three hundred rupees. That can’t be bad, can it?’

Zar took a deep breath and tried to think, but Kinross’s quicksilver gaze held hers and jumbled her thought processes. He was right. It would be the easiest money she’d ever earned. But then why was he even proposing such a thing? There must be a catch … For the life of her, she couldn’t think of one though.
‘Oh, very well, I accept your wager. But I’m not meeting you anywhere private for you to hand over my winnings, is that clear?’

‘Perfectly.’ He bowed. ‘I will allow you to decide entirely.
If
you win, of course.’

Zar was about to insist that she would, but just then William came back and she didn’t have a chance to say anything else. She winced as she watched him hand over the huge sum of money to Kinross, but she held her tongue as promised. The stones he’d given her would more than make up for the loss, he was right about that too. And William didn’t deserve to know.

The transaction completed, Kinross gathered up the stones that were left on the velvet-lined tray, put them back into his white silk bag and stood up. He bowed to them both, then looked out the window at the bright sunlight. ‘My servant was telling me the weather has been very unpredictable lately, but you wouldn’t think it on a day like today. Still, the rainy season will be upon us before we know it, I expect. I wonder if the monsoon will bring mists this year?’

‘Mists?’ William stiffened and his gaze suddenly turned sharp. To Zar’s surprise, he then replied with a forced laugh, ‘Oh, yes, and the mists hide everything.’

Kinross raised his eyebrows at him, then nodded thoughtfully. ‘Indeed they do. Good day to you both.’

With another bow he was gone and Zar opened her mouth to ask William what on earth he’d been talking about, but he followed Kinross to the door. ‘Must dash. I think I know exactly who to sell this giant diamond to. I’ll see you at supper time.’

She was left staring after both of them. Monsoons? Mists? Why had they suddenly started discussing such things? And today of all days? Outside, the weather was as fine as you could possibly wish for in early June and there wasn’t even a hint of the coming rains.

Something was going on here. But what?

She determined to find out and went in search of her spy.

So Miller was the contact – not good.

Jamie had been thinking there may be a way to return the talisman to its rightful owner or at least thwart the thieves somehow. Unless the owner was the person who’d arranged for it to be stolen in the first place?
No, surely not?
Either way, he’d hoped the contact would turn out to be someone he could involve in his plans, but judging by Miller’s behaviour that morning, that was out of the question. The man had no business acumen whatsoever and someone was obviously using him.

It seemed clear that Miller had got himself involved in something he probably couldn’t handle. Jamie certainly wouldn’t trust him for an instant and whoever was behind the theft must be a very clever man. He’d be running rings round Miller. The Englishman would have no idea how valuable the talisman was and Jamie was sure he wouldn’t be told either. He wondered why a foreigner had been chosen for the task of sending it out of the country, and such an inept one at that? It seemed bizarre.

He sighed. He’d have to come up with a new plan, but it might be best to wait until Sanjiv arrived. That could be days, even weeks, yet. In the meantime, Jamie would keep his eyes and ears open. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have Miller followed. He’d have to see about that.

Jamie was relaxing in the salon of his rented house, lying back on a soft rug and a couple of cushions under a fan which a small boy was operating by pulling on a string from outside on the terrace. It was still hot, but the fan made it slightly more bearable by stirring up the air. He wondered idly whether the beautiful widow was involved in the talisman scheme as well, but dismissed the thought almost immediately.

She had looked thoroughly puzzled when he posed the question about the monsoon mists. Whereas Miller had caught on straight away.

And she wasn’t used to making wagers either. Jamie shook his head at himself. Why on earth had he teased her like that? He’d decided not to have anything more to do with her, hadn’t he? But she’d looked so vulnerable, so defeated, when her stepson paid over the odds for the huge diamond. It made Jamie see her in a new light – not as the haughty beauty, but as a woman trying to hold her own in a man’s world. And fighting to keep her stepson in check, a seemingly impossible task.

He’d definitely misjudged her during their first encounter. He was sure of it now.

That was still no excuse for flirting, which was what it amounted to. Lord, but he was losing his marbles.

Jamie took a sip of wine and grimaced. It was lukewarm and didn’t add much to his comfort. Oh, for a glass of something cold, like Swedish spring water or strong ale … A knock interrupted his wishful thinking.

‘Excuse me,
sahib,
there is, er … someone to see you. In the hall.’ Kamal stood by the door, frowning.

‘Who is it?’ Jamie wasn’t in the mood for visitors of any kind. He wanted to be alone so he could think how best to go forward.

‘A very small person,
sahib
. Says she owes you something. Shall I send her away?’

Jamie shot into a sitting position. ‘What? A little girl?’ The servant nodded, disapproval clearly written on his face, but Jamie was already on his way to the door, swearing under his breath. What did the little thief want with him now? For it couldn’t be anyone else.

He was right. She stood very close to the front door, as if it represented an avenue of flight in case Jamie were to change his mind and decide to denounce her to the authorities, he thought. Next to her sat the mangiest little mutt Jamie had ever seen. Small, brown, with a slightly pointy nose and one ear up, the other flopping over. A thin body with a bushy tail curled neatly over its backside. The dog watched Jamie with eyes not dissimilar to those of his young mistress – large, dark and wary.

Jamie stopped in front of them, then hunkered down so he wasn’t towering over the child. It must have taken enormous courage to come here. He didn’t want to frighten her, so he said hello in Gujarati. He’d already picked up a few phrases, as some of the words were similar to Hindi, but he added a greeting in Hindi for good measure. ‘
Namaste.
To what do I owe this pleasure?’ He was just about to turn to Kamal, who was hovering behind him, to ask him to translate the rest of what he’d said, when a shy smile appeared on the little girl’s face.

‘You English. I speak you in English. Is good?’

Jamie rocked back on his heels and stared at her. ‘Why yes, that is good indeed, but where did you learn?’ There weren’t that many English people in Surat so he was surprised to find this little thief speaking their language.

‘My fader work English family. I listen. I learn.’ She nodded, obviously proud of herself. And rightly so, Jamie thought. She must have a very quick mind.

He smiled back at her. ‘What is your name?’

‘Roshani. And this Kutaro.’ She indicated the mutt, whose mouth opened in a wide grin as if he was pleased to see Jamie. The curly tail wagged as well.

‘Er, right.’ Jamie decided it wouldn’t be prudent to stroke the dog, no matter how friendly he looked. He probably came with a whole host of unwanted ‘guests’ in his fur. ‘But why are you here?’

‘
Sahib
save Roshani life, now give it you, serve always.’

‘What?’ Jamie frowned. ‘You’re … offering yourself to me as a servant?’ Roshani nodded, still smiling. ‘But you’re only a child! How old are you? You can’t be more than, what six?’

‘I eight. Want serve
sahib
, all life.’ She added something in her own language and Jamie’s servant translated sotto voce into Hindi.

‘She says because you saved her life, it belongs to you now. She will serve you forever, give her life for you if needed. She knows she is small but she’ll grow stronger.’

Jamie shook his head. ‘No, this is not necessary. I only wanted you to stop thieving.’ He fixed Roshani with his sternest gaze. ‘Stealing from people is bad. You should find a job instead if you must earn money. You have no obligation to me whatsoever.’

Her face fell and the big, brown eyes filled with unshed tears. Jamie wasn’t sure if she was a phenomenally good actress or if they were genuine, but felt moved all the same.

‘You don’t owe me your life,’ he clarified.